Harvesting the apples

 We've had a bumper year for apples both on the allotment and in the garden.  In the garden we have an old Bramley apple tree. We've lived in our house for thirty-two years and the apple tree was well established when we moved in, so I don't know how old it is. It has good years and bad years. Last year was probably the worst year ever and we thought it might be because it was old. But it has bounced back. There are apples all over the garden fallen from the tree which will provide some food for the birds in the winter months. The good ones which we have picked from the tree are now stored in the shed.

On the allotment is an apple tree of an unknown variety, it was there when we took the plot on and we have pruned it and looked after it over the last three years. It has rewarded us with an abundance of apples this year. I think the variety is a cox's pippin, it tastes and looks much like it.

With all these apples around I needed a good way to store them. I haven't done well in the past with storing the Bramleys. So I got a number of boxes from the local supermarket. These are the sort which are used for displaying fruit or veg, shallow and made of good strong cardboard. I have wrapped each apple in newspaper and set them out in the boxes so they are not touching. The boxes stack up easily and fit neatly on the shed benches. I'm hoping this will work and the apples will keep well.

All that remains now is for us to eat all these apples. The Coxs aren't a problem, we are eating them an apple a day each. That should keep us healthy. Now the Bramleys need cooking and making up into puddings, jams etc. I have plans to make jams and chutneys.